Victorville's Kid KO

Saturday

Jul 15, 2017 at 12:01 AMJul 15, 2017 at 9:13 PM

Jose Quintero Staff Writer @dd_jquintero

INGLEWOOD — Ryan Garcia feels like Superman every time his boxing gloves are laced on.

Garcia, 18, of Victorville, said that as he warmed up Saturday night and looked every bit the part during his lightweight bout at the Forum, in Inglewood. Garcia has a mild-mannered personality, movie-star looks, a million dollar smile and a lethal right hand that usually ends his fights by knockout.

Garcia (10-0, 9 KOs) knocked out Mario Macias a minute and 14 seconds into the first round.

Garcia landed a right hook early in the opening round, knocking Macias (27-22, 14 KOs) to the canvas. Macias beat the 10-count and Garcia ended the fight with a straight right hand, forcing the referee to interviene.

"The fight is kind of like a blur for me. I remember landing that right hand and saw him almost land face first," Garcia said. "This sport is all about execution. I saw the opening, used my jab to set up my straight right hand. I worked on that same combination in my locker room and executed it."

Garcia was met by his promoter Oscar De La Hoya after the fight.

Garcia told De La Hoya he was ready to return to the ring. De La Hoya agreed and told Garcia he would fight on the undercard of the highly-anticipated Sept. 16 showdown in Las Vegas between middleweights Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin.

"The plan is to keep him active. He fought a round tonight. I know he's ready to go next week," De La Hoya said.

"Ryan controls his destiny in his own hands. He's a very young talented fighter. He's hungry. He's motivated. He really has what it takes to succeed in this sport."

The 'Fabulous' Forum

Hours before displaying his punches under the bright lights in the aging former heavyweight champ of the Los Angeles sports scene and also the rock music world, Garcia woke up from a nap and shared his tale, including his desire to one day main event to Forum

In it’s heyday, The Forum was the home of the “Showtime” Lakers of the 1980s, and when it wasn’t busy hosting sporting events, it featured legendary musical acts like Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, the Doors and Prince.

This was Garcia’s second bout in the historical venue that underwent a significant facelift in 2014 and has since hosted a variety of significant boxing fights.

Garcia believes he will headline the historical venue one day.

"During the press conference I was looking at the main event fighters and I said to myself that there is no doubt I could headline a venue like this," Garcia said. "It's an honor to be able to fight in a place, that was known as the 'Fabulous Forum' back when the Lakers were playing here and a place where legendary fights were held."

Born to fight

Garcia was introduced to the sport by his father at an early age. He started fighting at 7 years old out of his garage in Victorville and amassed a 215-15 record as an amateur. Over his amateur career he became a 15-time National Gold Medal Champion among many other honors in the ring.

Garcia turned pro at 17, competing four times in Mexico until he could legally fight as a professional in the United States. Garcia started to capture the attention of various promoters looking to sign him.

Then Oscar De La Hoya entered the scene and signed Garcia to Golden Boy Promotions last November. Garcia made his Golden Boy Promotions debut by knocking out Jose Antonio Martinez on Dec. 17 in the same venue.

"This is all I've ever known," he said. "My dream was always to become a world champion. I don't like thinking about the future because I'm focused on the present. I'm focused on the opponent I'm scheduled to fight. Not my next opponent. But I know my time will come. I'm still 18 and I'll get there. I was born to fight and become a world champion."

Change of scenery

Prior to the fight, Garcia spent a month training in Las Vegas. A move he felt would benefit him in the long run. Prior to this fight camp, Garcia has solely trained in his garage that his father converted into a boxing gym.

His home gym has it all minus a ring. Photos and trophies on display; heavy and speed bags; boxing gloves and protective head gear scattered around; and the true smell of grit and a few old faded oil stains on the floor.

Garcia trained for this fight mostly at Pound 4 Pound Boxing and also sparred at the Roy Jones Jr. Fight Academy.

"It was nice to spend a whole camp in Las Vegas," Garcia said. "It was a hard adjustment at first because it was so hot out there. I found myself getting exhausted early on in a training session. It took about two weeks to get used to. Once I did I started feeling like myself and started putting a hurting on my sparring partners."

The sacrifices

Garcia skipped several family functions, including a Fourth of July celebration. Once training camp starts, there is no pause. No procrastination. No distractions.

Simply work and train.

"Family time for me is the biggest sacrifice for me," Garcia said. "There is no time to do anything because I'm training two and even three times a day."

One of the other sacrifices is strict dieting and weight management. But Garcia staying on a strict diet is not a huge sacrifice because he maintains his weight under 140 pounds when not training for a fight.

He started training camp in June weighing about 138 pounds.

Garcia spent some time late Thursday night in the Renaissance Los Angeles Airport Hotel’s fitness center. He lost half a pound after running on the treadmill.

Garcia woke up Friday morning weighing 132.2 pounds.

His father, Henry, said the goal is being one or two pounds within the target on the day of the official weigh-in.

Once Garcia weighed in at 131.6 pounds, he had one things on his mind; drink a bottle of Pedialyte and a plate of pasta.

Garcia and his family found a BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse where he ordered a Fettuccine Alfredo and a special treat.

"It would be disrespectful to go to BJ's and not eat a Pizookie," Garcia joked.

Garcia woke up Saturday morning went to IHOP and ordered steak and eggs. The advantages of being an 18-year-old athlete with a metabolism as quick as thoroughbred horse.

Jose Quintero may be reached at 760-955-5332 or JQuintero@DesertDispatch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DP_JoseQ.

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